Fairburn Royals – The Sunshine Slowdown

Having grown up as one of the millions of adolescent boys caught up in the baseball card explosion of the mid to late 80′s, there is a tendency for me to view each artist’s debut album as their “rookie” album now that my obsession has been transferred to music. Of course, in baseball card terms, a “rookie card,” for reasons determined long before I started dropping obscene amounts of money into the hobby, is generally much more sought after than a player’s other cards. In the realms of rock and roll albums, however, this is rarely the case (except for the true completists), as most bands produce vastly inferior work on their first release. At any rate, Fairburn Royals deliver their rookie release with The Sunshine Slowdown, and judging by the established criteria, it should prove quite collectible.
Opening with hard-charging guitar lines careening off of crashing drums in “Welcome to My Universe,” the fear that the garage-rock revival had grown to overtake the psychedelic-pop heartland of Athens, Ga. (where Fairburn Royals are from) was a distinct fear. Luckily, the pace slackened to find a more pensive groove, giving way to twinkling guitars and soft-throated vocals before mutating back into its previous shape. Like many of their Athens brethren, Fairburn Royals seem to indulge in more than a little throwback indie-pop, although with many of the former’s pretensions held in check. Occasionally, with the angular guitars and caustic energy of the arrangements on tracks like “High Noon” and “Movie,” the band clearly recalls the glory days of Pavement, although without Stephen Malkmus’ self-assured wit.
Still, there are times when one wishes for something resembling Malkmus’ famous (or infamous) wit, as certain tracks seem to struggle to make their lyrical statements clearly. For instance, whether the apparent pathetic sadness found in the narrator of “Secretary Day” is to be taken seriously or not is not easily grasped, though the track is more than saved by a gorgeously intricate keyboard line. Similarly, the pop balladry of “The Older Elvis” seems to strain for a profundity it can’t quite reach, as it isn’t the first nor the best song to attempt to find something uniquely human about Elvis Presley’s descent into drug-addicted obesity. That Elvis is a tragic figure isn’t open to debate, but the point almost seems belabored when pushed by the repeated yelling of “just like Elvis!” over and over. When delving into more stripped-down sounds, as with the pensive acoustic slide guitar of the title track, the Dave Pirner-ish tint to the vocals can lead to unfortunate comparisons to Soul Asylum, although the more deliberate rhythms and progression to noisiness of “Rather be Flying” find more similarities with the hypnotic pop side of the Velvet Underground. Overall, it’s a fine balance.
The band hits their stride with the absolutely shimmering indie-pop march of “Lovesong” and the pristine acoustic balladry of “Nightynigth.” The finale, twisting the classic hymn “I’ll Fly Away” with xylophone and a spontaneous sing-along feel, is the album’s most distinctive and revelatory track and more than hints at great things in their future. That kind of willingness to experiment with traditional sounds and transform them into their own rough impromptu approximations could make them stand out from the marginal crowds of indie pop bands.
Ultimately, only time will tell if The Sunshine Slowdown will gradually slip into obscurity as Fairburn Royals release more and better albums. If that’s the case, they will most likely have a rather distinguished career, as many bands have toiled for years without releasing an album this uniformly listenable. Still, there is room for growth (who knows, they may even get called up to the big leagues if they stumble upon a record contract).

Prosolar Mechanics – Urban Development Series Vol.4 Split EP

So Baltimore Maryland label amBiguous CITY! Records continue their Urban Development split series with volume 4 featuring Maryland’s Landspeedrecord! and New Jersey’s Prosolar Mechanics. The split 7″ or glorified CD EP is a great way to promote a label’s roster list and seems to me an economical way for two bands to get together and cut the costs of manufacturing in half and perhaps share in each other’s listening audience. Makes sense doesn’t it? Guess it really depends on if the two-featured bands actually compliment each other and there’s a potential crossover market.
In the case here, Landspeedrecord! and Prosolar Mechanics are sort of opposites that struggle to find a common ground. Quite different for that fact that Landspeedrecord! are fronted by male vocalist Charley Jamison and Prosolar Mechanics have Amy Jacob offering sultry female vocals. Jamison and company offer the first five of nine songs that appear on the split. Their brand of indie-rock strikes me as rather straightforward and familiar enough to say that I feel almost indifferent about it. The song I’d probably put on a mix tape for a friend, somewhere between an early Superchunk cut and some long forgotten Small 23 song, is “Method Acting.” What starts with driving bass and harmonic guitar punctuation quickly finds itself in a chorus of sublime, supporting vocals while Jamison offers, “I wish you’d spend more time in the present here / Can’t wait out that long / Can’t wait forever here.”
Prosolar Mechanics also keep me half interested in their brand of little league 4AD rock that harks back to a time when Lush’s supreme brand of female-fronted rock, albeit more upbeat, ruled the college radio airwaves. “The Future of Sex” and “Red Down the Middle” are slightly dark and moody enough that you know fans of Prosolar Mechanics are not entirely unfamiliar with the application of black eyeliner and hair dye. Amy Jacob’s voice is pretty and powerful and Prosolar Mechanics’ songs are content enough to rely heavily on her lead. I could see this band being a pleasant listen for fans of the long defunct Madder Rose.
Should you get this split CD EP if you’re a fan of either band? Sure. Will it kill you to hear the other band’s songs that accompany it? No. Will you want to go right out and find out more about the other band? Probably not.

Whippersnapper – Appearances Wear Thin

Welcome to Whippersnapper’s world. You’re a young punk band from Georgia with more records to your name than your birth certificate would allow others to think. You’ve already toured with most of your heroes: The Queers, Lagwagon, Hot Water Music, and Less than Jake. You have a beat-up van. Most of the girls you graduated from high school with no longer reject you but show up at your shows in studded belts and t-shirts with stars on them. Oh yeah – you’re deep dude. You’ve got a lot of wicked insights on friendship and loneliness and life and shit. And when you’ve got an ax on your shoulder, you can jump real high.
That’s all a little bit harsh, but there’s not a whole lot of fiction in the above paragraph. Whippersnapper were indeed signed after they got out of high school, and they’ve been playing together since 1992. They have toured with all of the aforementioned bands. Most of the time, they sound like a whole lot like Hot Water Music, only a little more polished. They have all of the buzzed guitars and circuitous leads of a post-hardcore pop outfit.
Despite the cynicism with which I approach this type of music, Whippersnapper really do a pretty good job. Despite the fact that they don’t have a shred of individuality, and that their lead singer sounds like a diary on crutches, they write some pretty decent tunes. Songs like “Forever” and “Gone but not Forgotten” are hooky enough to make you forget lines like “We never say forever to each other anymore, and it’s harder every time you go away.” When the flow of the music picks things up, these lines don’t sound nearly as awkward. The chorus of “To the Third Degree” reminds me (probably unintentionally) of Bob Mould, though the chunky faux-hardcore of the verse is regrettable. A song like “23 Years” is ruined only by lines like “23 years since the last revolution…there’s a murderer walking through your mind…you can save yourself / the answer’s not in anybody else…say a prayer for the next generation.”
For the most part, though, the bands avoids such obvious missteps. The songs are all catchy enough, and if you get off on this sort of thing, then I can’t think of too many bands that sound tighter than Whippersnapper. My biggest complaint about this music is that it’s just so tame. There’s not one dissonant note on the whole album. The lead singer has an appropriately gruff tone to his voice. The band is battle-hardened in that road-trip punk sort of way. Quite simply, this band is unforgivably unexceptional.

Avoid One Thing – S/T

If you ask the average Joe punk fan who he knows from the Boston scene, chances are he will cite two specific bands: the Dropkick Murphys and Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Both bands are representative of the famous Irish blue-collar working class that has shaped much of the city’s reputation. However, Beantown’s Avoid One Thing wouldn’t remind anyone of the raucous, hardnosed punk of the Murphys or the trademark big ska sound of the Bosstones.

Despite not sounding like the Bosstones, AOT does share ties with the band; lead singer/songwriter and bassist, Joe Gittleman, is the full-time bass player for America’s most well-known ska band. Rounding out Avoid One Thing’s line-up are members of various other Boston punk/ska bands. Guitarist Paul Delano was in the beer-infused Gang Green, fellow guitarist Amy Griffin is in the punkabilly-flavored Raging Teens, and the late Dave Karcich, who tragically passed away recently, played drums for third-wave ska band Spring Heeled Jack. With such an experienced, road-tested line-up of punk veterans, Avoid One Thing showed promise before I ever gave a listen to the album.

Even though the band has varying influences and have played different styles for quite some time, all their elements come together to create one seamless whole. Joe Gittleman’s voice recalls a bit of Bosstones’ frontman Dickie Barrett; I guess that has to do with singing back-up to Barrett for so long, but Gittleman has his own earnest, weathered punk sound. On “Next Stop Batteries,” Gittleman switches between a withdrawn, quiet style into a full-on sweeping pop-punk chorus that best showcases his vocal talents. Amy Griffin brings a great punk-n-roll guitar touch that reminds me a lot of Ann Beretta. Her work on this album is indispensable. Check out “Every Second of Every Day” for Griffin’s geetar flavor. Also present in AOT’s sound is an infectious yet mature pop sound that is just plain refreshing; this quality is present throughout the entire album but is most apparent in the pop-punk sing along “Rip It Up It’s Here,” the reggae-tinged “Lean On Sheena,” and “Yakisoba,” the song that sets the rockin’, free-wheeling tone for the entire album.

Side-projects are usually very hit-and-miss affairs, a case of band members wanting to do something different … for better or for worse. I can honestly say that Avoid One Thing falls on the welcomed-side of side-project endeavors. This self-titled debut is an exhibition in crafting mature pop songs without losing the energetic punk sound that makes this band so endearing. With the exception of Gittleman’s Bosstones, AOT is definitely the best thing going for the rest of the band members, especially Amy Griffin who totally ruled on here. I like those wacky horn-tooting Bosstones and the ska kids would miss them, but my heart would be far from broken if Avoid One Thing became a permanent unit.

Oxes – Oxxxes

The Oxes – three guys from Baltimore with chips on their shoulders the size of Buicks – play loud, fast songs that sound as if they were written on a runaway train, bound by barbed wire, thrown into a blender, and poured back into their heads before being played. Obscure, remote, fanciful, imaginary, visionary are all words that could be used to describe their sound. But to some ears, the Oxes’ instrumental tunes would be called raw, acute, piercing, sharp, shooting, stabbing, stinging; they may be even agonizing, excruciating, harrowing, racking, tormenting, and torturous. Depends on what part of town you hang out in.
The music on their second full-length record, Oxxxes, delivers a pleasant kick in the head – a very hard kick: thrashing guitars, pounding drums, and more thrashing guitars. Angry rock is nothing new, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a punk bank who’s music offers up no lyrics – instead, it’s is all instrumentals, jubilant, riff-rockin’ instrumentals. If the moxie and energy of the record are only half of what they muster up in concert, you’d probably be lying on the floor after the first number.
The lads aren’t ones to shy away from contradiction or controversy. They dress in conservative business suits. This album also underwent some art discord. It seems the band wanted to have as their artistic statement some semi-pornographic images of a young groupie drugging then doing the boys. This image, which was rejected, is available for download on the label’s website. monitorrecords.com. I found it rather juvenile and unnecessary. Instead, they opted for protestors waving signs with messages like, “Sarcasm does NOT equal irony.”
When it comes to their tunes, they sound like they’re on to something new – the Oxes won’t be pigeonholed – they shellack the guitar like it stole their lunch money, trounce the drum and bass unlike any genre I know. They could be speed-metal but are too tame. Still, the trio manages to throw off your balance with their punk delivery.
Yet as hard as they rock, I think they need to get a vocalist to make their music more interesting. The lack of screaming vocals to front the screaming guitars only makes me sad. I like to hear the combination – it brings me pain, which is to say joy.
The band – who by the way come from the same city that brought us iconoclasts John Waters and Devine – has a future of being a cult band with a large following that will grumble and bitch at the fact that everytime they see their idols in concert, 20 or 30 more people will be showing up. The secret will get out. Such is the price you pay for discovering and loving the unloved.
The Oxes show great promise and could shape up to be this century’s Sonic Youth, if they grow and keep experimenting. They should give producer Jim O’Rourke a call.

The Dishwater Psychics – The Signal Will Fade

This album isn’t offensively bad, and the world isn’t necessarily any worse off for it having been made. It’s just that there isn’t a single reason I can think of to recommend it to anyone. There’s just not really a whole lot going on. The playing is largely uninspiring, the vocals and lyrics are both dull, and the overall sound is okay at best. There’s a lot more that could have been done to make these songs at least remotely interesting, but the band was either too limited or too uninspired to do it.
A sure sign of a band hurting for inspiration, they use the word fuck in two songs out of five and a third features the line, “You’re one step away from pissing me off.” Elsewhere, the lyrics are so pointless they’re not worth repeating. Something tells me these guys may have more talent than this record suggests, but I’ll need to hear more before I decide for sure.
The songs feel completely disjointed and lacking in any kind of chemistry or band interaction. The acoustic guitar sound they use is so ridiculously irritating that it is almost vomit-inducing, especially on the silly “High Pitched Racer.” It’s like no one’s really sure what they’re supposed to be doing. The main vocals are grating in a high-school musical kind of way, although they do pull off some nice harmony vocals here and there. Everyone is always getting in each other’s way musically, which muddies the overall sound. “The Glass Awaits” is the best song on here, although it too gets saddled with hokey lyrics. This seems to want to be indie-rock, but it’s closer to the crap that dominated radio in the mid and late 90′s: Marcy Playground, Collective Soul, Third Eye Blind, etc.
These guys need to throw out that acoustic guitar, try and find some subject matter that is worth writing a song about, and buy lots of Elvis Costello albums. Likewise, they need to do something, anything, to create a sound, a lyric, a feel that is even half-way exciting. Otherwise, what’s the point? As for this album, to make the obvious dig, the signal doesn’t fade fast enough.

Ultrapull – From All Directions

The first thing that stands out about Ultrapull’s debut full-length, From All Directions, is its high production quality. One would not normally think that a relatively obscure and unknown label such as Gold Circle would spring the kind of cash necessary to achieve such a polished sound. The history of Ultrapull starts from the mind of Dale Everett (the main singer/guitarist) who draws much of his musical inspiration from his difficult childhood. As luck would have it, Everett met his partner in crime, Gerald Garcia, who shared the same musical vision and aspirations. After the band was signed to GCR, the bassist and drummer were eventually added to the band to complete the line-up.
Ultrapull’s music is relatively simplistic in form. The majority of the songs are infused with distorted power chords, straight-forward rock drumming, and the typical verse-chorus-verse. The songs are catchy at times, and it make for an enjoyable listen every once in a while. However, the majority of the disc is extremely repetitive and down-right boring. The only saving grace of the album is the high level of production where synths are added to fatten up the sound.
The highlight of the album is the opening track, “Out For Me.” Rockin’ power chords start the song off and kick in to Everett’s vocal stylings. Everett shows he can sing with an incredibly catchy chorus, singing “were you out for me / for things I said to you / were you for me / for all I put you through / were you out for me / it’s not enough for you / were you out for me.” Sweetening up the chorus is a wonderful little synth or effect-laden guitar that adds a surprisingly likeable melody to the song.
Tracks such as “Lose It,” “Boomerang,” Turned on You,” “One More Time Around,” “Sedative,” and “Breathe” all show the typical cookie-cutter rock pop band style. However, Ultrapull shows their diversity by demonstrating they are more than capable of coming up with memorable and catchy slow songs. “Surrounded” features a wonderfully melodic guitar part complemented with Everett’s passionate vocals. “Never Have Words” is another example of the softer, gentler side of Ultrapull. The song starts with an almost U2-esque vocal styling. Soft acoustic guitars are added to complement and harmonize the melody. Everett’s voice is very effective and creates a memorable hook for the listener.
While From All Directions may not be record of the year, it does have some nice moments. The band members do demonstrate musical talent and proficiency, however it is just a shame they choose to indulge in cookie-cutter pop rock. Much of the disc is nothing special, but there are a few tracks that provide effective hooks and might garner the band more attention from bigger labels. If you’re a fan or are content with top 40 radio pop-rock, then this release should be right up your alley.

Various Artists – Color While You Listen 7"

Various artist 7″ records are a funny thing. While CDs are easier to listen to, there’s something enjoyable about getting a 7″ with a bunch of bands. Plus, you tend to find bands that are harder to track down on CD, and that makes it all the more worth it. These five bands are all from upstate New York, an area not known for its indie rock but one that should be. Mixing a diverse group of styles – from indie rock to heavy noise – you get a fine example of what’s going on with this release.
The best track here is undoubtedly the Flashing Astonishers’ excellent “Four Chords.” A wonderful indie-rock track, it shows elements of the band’s shoegazing sensibilities, their mid-90′s guitar-rock influences, and more modern melodic elements. Layered guitars and sometimes layered vocals work well on this fun, mid-tempo track that I want to listen to again and again. Visionstain get kinda grungy on “Job,” a quick mix of guitar-rock and indie-rock, up-tempo and strong if not particularly unique. It’s over before you know it, as is the mayhem of “Seeny Bopper” by Drunken Orgy of Destruction. This band sounds just like their name. Somewhere between shouted hardcore and sludge-rock, this track is weird, its best elements being the scream and movie-sampled voices at the beginning, but it’s over quick, so never fear.
“Kool Kidz” by Pale Green Stars is a pretty cool guitar-pop song sounding like a mix between Weezer and Landspeedrecord!. The vocals are a bit sludgy for me, but the song is nice, driven at a nice pace and with some catchy hooks. Besides the Flashing Astonishers’ song, this is the next best track. Negativ Seven finish off the release with “Stillborn,” a crazy three minutes of pounding beats, growling vocals, and driving power chords. Somewhere between sludge-rock and grind-core, this is weird, heavy stuff that I don’t like at all.
And if the music here isn’t enough, the fine folks who put this together have given you something to do while you listen. You can color in the cover! In fact, they even include a pack of three crayons with each copy. My colors were all dark, which would look good on the scary guys on the cover. But I scanned it for you before coloring, as I’ve never been good at staying between the lines. So if you don’t buy it for the fine songs, buy it for something artistic to do.

Vapourspace – Sonic Residue from Vapourspace: The Magna Carta Remix Series, Vol. 1

It took me a while to get clear on the premise here. Apparently Vapourspace, which is the moniker for artist Mark Gage, was long admired by Peter Morticelli, who runs the rock label Magna Carta. So he asked Gage to give the electronic treatment to Magna Carta’s primarily hard-rock and jam-rock bands. Over the course of these tracks, Gage completely re-hashes these songs, turning them from hard-rock pieces to unique electronic soundscapes. Without hearing the originals, it’s hard to know how they compare, but the results, while being traditional electronic remixes full of beats and synths and often far longer than they should be, are often quite good.
The first track is “Girl from Enchilada” by Attention Deficit (which features members of Testament and Primus). Gage keeps a funk-like jam feel to the song, only layering it over keys and beats to give it a kind of neat dancefloor feel. “Blue Mondo” by Niacin (featuring members of David Lee Roth’s band and the Parliament/Funkadelic) is given a more moody feel full of synth effects. Gage kept some cool guitar work and wild, almost tribal beats to the Led Zeppelin homage “Led On” by Steve Morse (Deep Purple) and keeps vocals on Explorers’ Club’s (Deep Purple, Yes) mournful dirge, “Time Enough,” and I wish he didn’t, as this is the most annoying song here.
“Osmosis” by Liquid Tension Experiment (Dream Theater, King Crimson) is given a new-agey feel that’s quite pleasant, while Gage’s take on their “Another Dimension” is way too long and repetitive, still rather new-agey. Bozzio Levin Stevens’ “Dark Corners” is given a harsh, cold industrial feel, and their “Melt” is quirky and kind of jazzy. Steve Walsh’s (Kansas) “Kansas” retains the vocals for a classic rock feel with some added spacey effects, and “Jenny Nettles” by Tempest is given the usual remix treatment: long, boring, repetitive, and almost all beats.
To be honest, I doubt I could stand the original songs that Gage had to work with. Judging from what I found at the Magna Carta website, these bands are all reformed 80′s rock backups and metalheads. But Vapourspace’s take on them has made them completely new and modern. And while the electronic remixes aren’t terribly unique, they’re kind of funky, kind of dancey, and pretty interesting. Check out the liner notes for more information about this project than anyone would ever want to know. Literally.

Rilo Kiley – Science vs. Romance 7"

This LA four-piece clearly has the ability to win over your heart. Light and pleasant, it’s led by singer Jenny Lewis’ beautiful and expressive voice. Now signed to Barsuk Records, who released Take Offs and Landings that features the title song, this 7″ is released on a UK label and has the even better song, “About the Moon.” Lewis and Blake Sennett share the songwriting duties, and Sennett adds some soft backing vocals here and there to these lovely pop songs that you have to hear to believe.
“Science vs. Romance” is a beautiful song. Moving along at a calm mid-tempo pace, it has some really nice, slightly jangly guitar and Lewis’ wonderful voice that does get a bit nasally at times but really makes this song wonderful. When male backing vocals come in, rich and melodic, the song has a much bigger rock sound, and the layers of guitars and bass give it a much larger sound than you’d expect. The guitar solo mid-way through is a nice touch too, as too few bands work the guitar solo these days.
On “About a Moon,” Lewis voice gets more sultry in a coffee-house sort of way, which is maybe why I like it even better. Singing with a lounge singer sort of tone accompanied by soft, beautiful piano, the song is rich and full, making you want to play it loud to get the full extent of her voice. Truth be told, Lewis makes me swoon here, with her beautiful voice. The addition of trumpet over the piano and brush drums is a nice touch as well, and the song almost doesn’t want to end, adding some guitar over some sweet-sounding atmospheric vocal effects to continue and maybe even bring a tear to your eye.
I can see why Barsuk signed this band, as they fit nicely along with pop favorites Death Cab for Cutie. Much more guitar-based, however, Rilo Kiley has a very big sound for their laid-back, mid-tempo numbers. With Lewis’ expressive voice and wonderful layers of electric guitar, these two songs are fantastic, and they’re going to send me seeking out the band’s other two full-length releases.

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